Pillow-sham holder



(No Model.)

J. J. KELSEY.

PILLOW SHAM HOLD-ER.

Patented Jan. 31,1882.

' llnrrnn STATES PATENT Genres.

JOSEPHJ. KELSEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PILLOW-S AW: HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION fOrming part of Letters Patent No. 252,952, dated January 31, 1882.

Application filed October 12,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Joseph J. KnLsnY, of Detroit, county of Wayne, and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pillow-Sham Holders, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters ofreference marked thereon.

My invention has relation to that class of devices intended to be used in connection with beds or bedsteads for the purpose of supporting the pillow-shams in proper position, either when down over the position of the pillows or when located above and out of theway of the pillows.

Among the principal objects of my invention or improvements are the production of a light, durable, and cheap holder, which may be applied to any form of bedstead whereon it is desired to use pillow-shams; the provision of means for adapting the holder for use in connection with any desired size of pillowsham, the provision of meansfor adjusting the turning-rod so that it will conform to variations in the width of the heads of bedsteads, the application to the turning-rod of simple and efficient means for attaching the shams thereto, and the hinging of the turning-rod to its supports in such manner that the shams may be readily adjusted in position for use or turned up out of the way against the head of the bedstead without mussing the shams or the pillows, and so that the rod shall not bear against the head of the bedstead, while at the same time the rod and its attached shams will be held in the position in which placed, either up or down.

To accomplish these objects my invention involves certain novel and useful arrangements or combinations of parts and details of manufacture or construction, all of which will be herein first fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view, showing my improved device applied,

upon the head of an ordinary bedstead (the shams being omitted) and the holder in its upturned position; and Fig. 2 is a similar view,

showing the holder turned down. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the improved holder detached from the bedstead,-and indicating by dotted lines the position of the parts when the holder is extended, as in order to make it applicable to a wider bedstead.

In all these figures like letters of reference, wherever they occur, indicate corresponding parts. I

A is the main rod of the holder, made in two parts, one adjustable upon the other, and upon this rod the pillow-shamsatre intended to be secured in some suitable manner.

B B are brackets upon which the rod A is hinged, so that it maylurn. The brackets are to be attached to the bedstead, and they may be secured thereon by any desired means, andmay be of any form or outline so long as they will maintain therod A in the manner desired. I have shown them as connected with the projecting sides of the bed-posts at the head of the bedstead but they might be secured on the fronts ofthese posts, or on the front of the headboard, or at any other convenient point. The rod A is mounted upon these brackets, as by the simple hingesa a. Each bracket is provided with a spring, I), which, when the rod is turned up as in Fig. 1, permits the passage of a wire or equivalent catch, 0, attached to the rod, and when completely turned up the rod is, by means of the spring and catch, held in its place, where it will remain until released, holding the shams up, and notjam against the adjacent parts of the bedstead, which might without such provision become damaged. As one spring and catch are sufficient to hold the rod, it is recommended to tie one spring down, leaving the otherfree to work. This will avoid thenecessity of passing from one side of the bed around to the other in order to release the rod. It is preferred to supply all the brackets with holding-springs, so that either spring may be used, which is necessary in cases where the bedstead is frequently shifted from one wall to another in a room. To turn the rod down from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, the springs 11 have only tobe depressed by the finger and the rod revolved upon its sup- I IOO otherwise secure strips of cloth, tape, or cord (1, to which the tops of the shams may be quickly and easily pinned, and from which they may be as easily detached. The wire catches c afford a convenient means of attaching a second cord or tape, d, to which the fringe or border of the shams may be attached. The inner ends of cords d are held by convenient projections (1 which must not interfere with the required adjustments of the two parts of rod A.

Instead of the strips (1, spring-clips might be used, if desired; or buttons or screw-eyes intended to enter eyelets in the shams, or other convenient means of attachment, might be adopted.

The rod A should be mounted upon the bed stead at about the height of the tops of the pillow-shams when in proper position over the pillows. Upon the red are secured springbows G O, the outer ends of which are joined by flexible cords D, which may be lengthened or shortened at pleasure to correspond with the width of the shams, the bows keeping the cords always taut. The bows are preferably made of wire, and of course only the ends of those on one part of rod A are joined together, so that all the fittings on one part of rod A shall be independentof those on the other part. Otherwise the desired adjustments could not easily be efl'ected.

. The holder thus constructed being located in place and the shams secured thereto, they by grasping one of the projecting ends.

rest upon the cords and bows, and are kept extended over the position of the pillows, smooth and even, and always in proper location. To turn the shams up out of the way and against the head of the bed, it is only necessary to revolve the rod, which is easily done The cords and bows carry the shams up against the head of the bedstead, allowing the free ends of the shams to fold down and cover the holder, and the rod and attachments are held in place by the springs provided for the purpose. The bed may then be used without interfering with the shams. To replace the shams over the pillows the rod has only to be released from the holding-springs and revolved in the opposite direction, when they (the shams) will assume their proper places over the position of the pillows without the necessity of other adjustment.

The general advantages of a sham-holder by which the shams can be held in place are sufficiently obvious.

By use of my improved holder it will be observed that the shams, however flexible, are easily taken care of and maintained in extended position, and do not therefore require to be stitily starehed, as is the common practice; the pillows are not inussed or wrinkled; the shams can be properly replaced by the simple turning of the rod, and are held entirely out of the way when desired; and the device is applicable to bedsteads the heads of which are high or low, without detracting from the ornamental efi'ect of the headboard when the shams are up or when they are omitted entirely.

Vhen the shams are in p'ace the ends of the holding-rod only are visible, and for this reason I prefer to make the ends of the rod in some ornamental form; but even the ends of the rod may be concealed beneath the shams, if desired.

Single or double sh ams may be used at pleasure, and with this improved form of holder may be employed with no pillows beneath them. g

If the rod were made in a single piece, it would require to be of a length to correspond with the width of the bedstead to which it might be desired to apply it; but to avoid the necessity of making a particular attachment for each style of bedstead, I make the rod adjustable in length, thus cconomizing in the general manufacture. The two parts of the rod are slotted, substantially as shown, and two set-screws are employed, as at c and f. The slots admit of the sliding of one part of the rod upon the other, (when the set-screws are loosened,) and being set to the proper length, the set-screws have only to be turned up, when the two parts of the red are properly held together. This is a simple form of slidiugjoint, which may be varied within thelimits of the skill of any mechanic.

We have three generalclasses of bedsteadsthe single, the three-quarter, and the doubleand these vary in width in each class from one to six inches, and possibly a little more. By use of the above-described sliding joint [compensate for this variation, and make one style of rod tit any of the ordinary-sized bedsteads.

In the bows upon which the shams are made to rest I form a center piece, (shown at G G, Figs. 1 and 2.) This may be of any outline, and it serves to support the middle part of the sham, preventing the middle from sagging, especially when the sham is very large. The central pieces are omitted from Fig. 3 to facilitate the illustration. \Vhen only a small sham is to be used the bows may be used without the central piece, as in Fig. 3.

\Vhen constructed and arranged to operate in accordance with the foregoing explanations the improved device is simple, not liable to get out of order, durable, easily applied, and constitutes a serviceable and desirable adjunct to the bedstead, and one which admirably answers the several purposes or objects of the in-' vention, as previously stated.

Having now fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pillow-sham holder, the adjustable spring-bows applied upon the twopart holding-rod, and provided with the flexible adjusting-cord, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The herein-described holding-rod of a pillow-sham holder, the same being made in two parts, each part slotted, as explained, and each part provided with a set'screw passingthrough the slot in the other part, the whole combined and arranged substantially as shown and described.

3. In combination with the turning-rod of a pillow-sham holder, the flexible tapes or strips secured thereon, to which strips the pillowshams may be pinned, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

4. The rod A, hinged upon brackets B, which latter are provided with holding-springs, substantially as explained, so that when the rod is turned up the shams will be held in elevated position, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination ofthe brackets, theholding-rod hinged thereon, and the adjustable spring-bows, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination of the brackets, thetwopart adjustable holding-rod hinged thereto and turning thereon, the adjustable spring-bows, and the flexible strips or tapes for holding the shams, substantially as shown and described.

7. In combination with the turning-rod of a pillow-sham holder, the spring-bows applied thereon, said bows being joined at the ends by an adjusting-cord, and provided with a central supporting-piece, substantially as shown and described.

8. The herein described improved pillowsham holder, composed of the adjustable rod hinged upon the side brackets, the spring-bows connected with said rod and providedwith adjusting-cords, the flexible strips upon the rod for attachment-of the shains, and the brackets provided with springs to operate against suitable stops on the rod, the whole arranged and combined to operate substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH J. KELSEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN G. GOODRIGH, I. E. SLIoK. 

